Noah was only nine years old when he looked across the restaurant in Lakeland, Florida and saw a police officer. The officer was sitting alone eating his breakfast and suddenly, the little boy got nervous and he didn’t know how to act. He had something on his mind that he wanted to do and he told his mother the details. When he reacted that morning, the officer ended up jumping out of his chair. He was just overwhelmed by the actions of the young boy.
The fact was, Noah wanted to become a police officer and he really had it in his heart. His mother, Amanda Canton, said that Noah could walk over and say hello to officer Eddie Benitez. They were together eating at Denny’s that day and were enjoying a nice breakfast. It was “bring your child to work day” so she told Noah he could go over and greet the officer.
Unfortunately, Noah didn’t know what to say and he froze up. Rather than going over and being nervous, he did something for the officer. He paid for his breakfast using his birthday money.
Noah and his mother got the attention of the waitress and told her about the plan. When they received the receipt, Noah wrote a special note to the officer with Amanda’s help. It said:
“I want to be you when I grow up. Thank you for your service.”
Noah walked over to the officer and handed him the note. The policeman was stunned by what happened. He jumped up from his seat and took a picture with his new friend.
“He didn’t understand why this little boy was walking down there with his tab. His face was very shocked.”
He was so touched by Noah’s act of kindness and the message with the receipt that he continues to carry it every day.
“It meant everything. It meant that I’m supposed to wake up every morning and put on this uniform and go out there and do what I do. You know? It means that I need to keep trying to be a good example to all these young guys.”
The picture was shared on the Lakeland Police Department Facebook page. They also were very thankful to Noah for what he did.
“Well Noah, you touched all of our hearts today. Your support means so much to all of the men and women who put on the uniform every day.”
Noah was thrilled that he got mentioned on the police department Facebook page. He had wanted to be a police officer for four years and he still makes it his goal.
“I’m going to make the world a better place and capture the bad guys.”
His mother said that she will be very proud if he decides to go through with it when he is older. The police officer he helped that day would also be very happy with his choice.